


Si Velimus Moriemur

by Nitorem



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Agender Character, Attempted Murder, Eventual Romance, F/M, M/M, Magic, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:07:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nitorem/pseuds/Nitorem
Summary: •The RosterWe are born with talent. Talent immesurable except inside these iron walls. A natural alignment and pattern thatcomes about with time.Roster is Natural•The OrderWe are smart. We are strong. We fall where we may,spend time cultivating skills.some teaching,some learning,some watchingOrder Is Subconcious•The RankWe are manipulative. We win by teaching, watching and learning. P3 - Pain, Power and Point.Rank is Fair Game.





	1. Forward

**Author's Note:**

> In my life I have heard many men beg for the mercy of God, pray to Michael for strength and Urial for Wisdom, but never have I heard such a cry for salvation as I did with my eyes closed. He cried out, screamed, wailed for mercy of something I could not see and promised his life to God. Without my eyes I had no truth. I could not see. I was powerless in these moments, yet I kept my eyes closed; regardless of temptation I kept them closed, Laetus' words clear in my mind.
> 
> "Fear him."

          I stared out into space, yawning quietly as our instructor walked around to collect last week’s paper before she began the day’s lecture. I blinked down briefly at my paper, two thousand black characters standing out against the paper. A moment later the instructor walked up to me. As I placed my paper into her hand, she smiled softly “An A+ again Caudex?” I replied, “I would imagine". Shortly after, the instructor began to lecture and my mind snapped to attention. It didn’t matter if I had heard the lecture six times: I always listened as if it were the first lecture. “After reviewing last week’s tests, it is clear that the majority of you understand your history. To recap, there are two categories of people. There are also four possible types of Children: Element, emotion, Mentality, and The Specials. As many of you pointed out, the acronym S.E.E.M. is helpful in memorizing the subtypes.” I had always been a child inclined to education. Lectures never bored me, and I enjoyed historical tangents; even as my classmates began to doze off, I focused on the instructor. When she finished lecturing, she gave us an overnight assignment that we could begin in class. It wasn’t particularly difficult; within the last 15 minutes of class, I’d written half of my report. Our instructor took the last 5 minutes of class to remind us of the upcoming Knowledge Evaluations. Behind me I heard someone groan in remembrance. “KE charts will be posted in the Common Halls during lunch. Wisdom be with you.” “And Knowledge among us” we replied.

         As she sat down to grade our papers and I’d tied my bag closed, and pushed in my chair, I felt something shift into the corner of the classroom. Ignoring it, I began to exit the room. The presence followed me. When I approached the door what was behind me jump at me. I swiftly stepped to the side and stuck out my foot, effectively tripping the presence at fault.

CRASH!!

“Ow, dammit! Geez; that hurt like a… like a healing spell gone wrong or sumthin’ Gah…” I sighed at the over exaggeration of pain and apologized to the instructor who was trying to grade, “Fallo how many times will I have to tell you that I cannot be surprised?” I inquired, picking at the dirt on his shoulder while we made our way through the halls.

         Fallo laughed at my side a, “Till the day I die,” escaping him as he made to ruffle my hair. A hard glare to his palm had the red leathered glove quickly retreating. Yet, after we had stopped by my common lobby and room for me to gather a few of my things, he attempted to throw his arm over my shoulder. I picked his gloved hand up with a thumb and pointer finger, dropping it off me; it made its way back before we walked another ten steps. Tall people infuriate me. I inwardly seethed, before accepting my momentary fate. Fallo began to ask me a myriad of questions, and for every answer expected, he was given a shrug.  “Are you gonna answer my questions or are you just gonna glare at the ground?” I kept silent. “Well? Sheesh, with that glare, I’m surprised the ground hasn’t burned up yet” Again I stared down at his gloved hands pointedly before I said, “Says the giant hothead.” “Shuddup!!”

        Eventually we reached our destination; the common room was welcome blend of orange, brown, blue and green. I entered the room with a familiar ease and settled myself into a chair quietly. Fallo sat opposite me taking an entire loveseat, easily throwing a leg over the low back and resting his head on the armrest. “Seriously, you suck man.” I began picking at my fingernails, scarping graphite out from underneath. “Thank you.” I replied. After a moment of silence, a rather pleasant looking man entered the lobby, a scroll tucked under his arm and glasses resting on his nose. I looked up. “Greetings, Aviditas.” He nodded back, adjusting Fallo so he had space on the couch. Fallo’s head now rested in Aviditas’ lap. Elementals are so touchy-feely. “Caudex tripped me! And he called me a hothead.” Aviditas glanced up at me, face relaxed and carding his fingers through Fallo’s hair to soothe him. “Did he now?” Fallo nodded from his spot as I spoke my affirmation. “Yes I did and I am only slightly sorry.”  The older man shrugged, letting the event pass. “It’s over now, and I cannot alter the past. What brings you here Caudex?” I shifted, hands resting in my lap. “I was simply dropping him off.” “HEY, ‘Him’ has a name...you lil’ booger.” “I’m aware.” After that, Aviditas and Fallo fell into a very generic back-and-forth about classes, progress and whatnot. Where I found Fallo less than bright and somewhat annoying, Aviditas was smart and well mannered; however, I found the elder mind-numbingly boring and preferred to allocate my time to Fallo. That’s if I feel like being generous. Shouts began to echo from upstairs, followed by something breaking. Soon enough a pair of feet quietly hopped down stairs, and out glided someone I hadn’t seen in quite a long time.

        “ ‘Ditas, would you happen to-oh?” The small male tilted his head, chocolate hair falling sideways before walking farther into the common room.  Aviditas stopped stroking Fallo’s head, attention on the tiny brunette. “What is it Constans?” Constans held his hands up, raising an eyebrow. “My brace?” he questioned. “It’s-” “Nitorem was fixin’ it last I saw.” Aviditas rolled his eyes, shoving Fallo by his face. Fallo fell to the carpet, body awkwardly supine. I titled my head as Constans came and sat on the armrest of my chair, Aviditas sighed heavily as Fallo sat up, rubbing his cheek. “Gah, why is it always my face?!” The elder shrugged, smiling tightly. “Don’t interrupt him when he’s talking.” Constans chided, face unsympathetic. I glanced at the clock before shifting, making sure I had all of my things in my bag. Constans glanced down at me. “I need to find Laetus” I explained, standing from my seat. I nodded my farewell as I left the Common Room, warm colors fading into a familiar muted palette. After walking for a while, I turned around, staring my best friend down. “If you in anyway call me Fallo, I’ll kill you.” Constans warned. “Fair enough.; you are slightly scary.” I told him. He tilted his head up with confidence, tiny nose in the air. “I know.” He locked our arms, skipping lightly without jostling me too much and we casually made our way down the hall. Constans filled me in on all of the Elemental happenings, and how he was going to go absolutely mad because, “Emotionals are so hard to live with”.  I laughed at the last sentence, nudging his shoulder. When questioned, I told him about my recent assignments and readings, along with the fact that underclassmen were staring to call Aviditas a fuddy-duddy. Constans laughed, and I knew he didn’t believe me right at that moment, and it caused my temple to jump lightly. I only ever told the truth, so it annoyed me to no end to be dismissed. “Caudex, I’ll take my leave and find Nitorem for my brace.” He unlinked from me and began down a flight of stairs. “Wisdom be with you!” he called, before disappearing.

And Knowledge among us.


	2. Duos: The Players

            The Archives were hard to miss. I continued down the hall and the closer I came, the more my surroundings changed. Bland, boring brick was now mixed with warm red clay, and soon the entirety of the halls were reddish brown, hinting at a much older structure. Windows that normally sat closer to the celling, square in shape with no sill, were now close enough to open, tall arches with sills wide enough to rest on. Obsidian black floors turned copper, and my shoes began to click against the flooring. This particular place was beautiful, from the accents down to the door I was now in front of. The arched double doors were tall and black in color with gold handles and carvings. Are you behind these doors? Apart from your own quarters, you are here. I pulled open one door and entered the dimly lit space. Twelve bookshelves filled the room, spanning the diameter of the circular space. 24 feet in height with six feet intervals, extending back sixteen feet. The room, was decidedly cone shaped, ceiling collecting to a fine point from which an impressive chandelier hung. Along the walls hung old art, famous pieces meant to invoke and inspire. A collection of chairs and love seats were spread out, sometimes accompanied by a coffee table. This was a favored place of rest for more reserved souls to relax or study.

It was the one place no one made a ruckus.

I walked towards the back, handling my messenger bag as my eyes scanned the shelves. The absence of noise was calming. I sighed sharply, approaching the very back of the Archives. I sat in one of two chairs, bag deposited by my foot. I crossed one leg over the other, while leaning back into the chair, staring at the patterns on the pointed celling. “Truth; Rules pertaining to magic. Knowledge; The information needed to wield such magic. Within our Knowledge sleeps Truth, less Knowledge become expendable,” I recited. In my peripheral vision, I saw a head of black hair behind a moving column of books. “Which is why Wisdom is important. The ability to retain, recall, and implement Knowledge.” “Based on Truth and personal Understanding.” I responded, watching the black hair turn this way and that way in well concealed, albeit detectable, amusement. “What now my child?” A tall body side stepped the stack of books silently, while a sigh reverberated of the walls, and eyes narrowed o’er top of books in my direction. Clear cat like eyes stared at me, unblinking and highly unamused. He sighed, before grabbing a half stack of books and filing them into the seventh bookcase, which spanned the “back wall”. Next to the book case, at a diagonal angle, sat a large, antique podium like desk with a low light lamp, plenty of stationery and writing utensils. For a short while, I watched my quarter-mate go through his routine inspecting, documenting, and archiving all the books in his vicinity. “Friend of mine, speak your worries,” I advised, cocking my head in the slightest. Laetus continued to work, neither acknowledging me, nor pausing in his work. His shoulders fell as he finished his inspection, moving to re-shelve books. “I fret not Caudex. Ease-” “Oh hush; otherwise, speak clearly with purpose.” Laetus tuned to me, leveling his gaze with mine. “You…are highly infuriating. Help me finish, and then I may talk.” I stood with a smile, piling books into my arms. “Oh but you will.” I quickly and efficiently set about re-shelving books in silence, knowing the library like the back of my hand. The task ended quickly with the two of us working swiftly, and soon enough everything had found its proper place, including Laetus and me.

            Laetus and I found ourselves tucked away, sitting in soft armchairs, a small end table holding a warm tea set between us. Laetus poured two cups, and we sat in silence. He held his cup with both hands, and swirled the liquid while reigning his thoughts in. “There will be Knowledge Evaluations this month.” I nodded “As there are every month during the last week: beginning on Un, and ending on Quattor.” “This coming week.” I tilted my head, focusing in on my quarter-mate. “K.E.s are for the purpose of evaluating our understanding.” “Of Truth. K.E.s test our individual grasp of our abilities – our personal Understanding, based on Truth.” I arched both brows, prompting him to continue. “It is one giant test, you do realize?” I hummed as my way of saying I was listening. “Higher Ups expect us to spend the days prior dutifully preparing ourselves for demonstration; Demonstration of what we’ve come to know based on the Truths that we are given.” He paused, his brows drawn as he sipped on his tea. I grasped the handle of my tea cup with one hand, the saucer in the palm of my other hand. “This is common knowledge." His breathing slowed. “What ails you?” “What do you know of the word 'Courts'?”

“…Pray tell, where you heard that?”

I scoffed, as we entered a large low celling room. Only eight feet high, and bench like table fixtures with backs. On one end of the back, sat a pillar like structure, caged in by a crate/blind-like fixture. The dividers between booths were made of thin pressurized slabs of wood, see through, also as if they were blinds on a window, and they sat vertically between adjacent booths. Rows upon rows of tables filled the vast room, perfectly proportioned, and everything was bolted down to the floor. Comfortably, each booth held two or three on each side. The east wall was full of doors and trashcans. Laetus and I walked the perimeter of the room, settling for the northwest most corner of the room.

“Oie, here here! Caudex!” I noticed a petite, male with ebony black hair and smoky eyes craning his neck to stare me down. I nodded, walking up to the booth and chatting with him. Across form him sat Constans, and next to Constans, Aviditas. Laetus sat that the table across the aisle, next to a long legged, stoic looking man. After exchanging pleasantries, to the best of my abilities, I slid in next to a kind looking man, eyes sparkling with mirth, as he laughed at the person to his left; next to him sat a beautiful creature with long eyelashes, a quiet countenance and a radiant blinding smile. Said person was ingcover their mouth, pushing the man away lightly with a hand hidden in the sleeve of an almost too big shirt. The stoic looking man turned his attention to me, arms crossed over his chest as he clered his throat A glance was given. “Caudex, I'm to tell you that your K.E is on the eve of Quattor. Prepare accordingly” I nodded in understanding, eyes already scanning my notebook, going over the morning's notes. I spent my meal time in much the same manner as always: I let the verbal information of others filter itself through my brain subconsciously as I went through the motions.

Motion: a change in position of an object with respect to time also on its reference point. Motion is typically described in terms of ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.”
> 
> Note: Oie is pronounced [Oy-Ay]
> 
> I know some of this is abstract, but concret ideas are coming!

**Author's Note:**

> “Sometimes the simplicity of anything is what makes it so beautiful”
> 
> Note: And Chapter one is up
> 
> ~Ary


End file.
